Where to next?

So much to see and learn; so little time!  Two days was definitely not enough.  It's a really good thing John's traveler contract runs into January - but.... but.... but there's all of the OTHER places in Virginia, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania...  Nope, no way.  Just not enough time.

Well, no worries.  We'll do what we can for the time being, so, where do we go next?  How about a stroll through the park to the Todd House.

The Todd House is the first home of lawyer John Todd and Dolley Payne Todd who lived here from 1791 to 1793.  The rooms are very small, functional and utilitarian, furnished in the Quaker style, and the brick building is four stories tall.  (Remember William Penn's desire for all buildings to be made of brick.)  In 1793 a yellow fever epidemic struck Philadelphia.  Most residents fled to the countryside, but Todd felt, as an attorney, he should stay and help those who had fallen ill get their affairs in order and prepare wills.  Once the fever hit, one only had a very few days to live.  Unfortunately, Todd, too contracted yellow fever and died.  The house was left in Todd's will to their young son (since women couldn't own property) and could not be sold until the son came of age.

Dolley was widowed less than a year when she met and married one James Madison.  Yes, THE James Madison of Presidential history.  And, yes, Dolley Madison is the one who was the last to evacuate the White House when the British invaded and burned Washington, D.C. and the White House in the war of 1812.  Because Dolley served as first lady during the last part of Thomas Jefferson's presidency and for James Madison's two terms, she was probably our longest serving first lady.

Included in this tour was a home at the opposite end of the block owned and occupied by Bishop White.  The Bishop's home contradicted totally the home of the Todd's.

The rooms were huge even by today's standards, the stairways wide, the furnishings bordering on opulent.

Bishop White was a permanent resident and definitely a leading citizen in Philadelphia.   White was the only Episcopal cleric in Pennsylvania who sided with the American revolutionary cause, while the other ordained priests remained loyal to the British.  He served as Chaplain to the Continental Congress and Senate.

Philadelphia was founded in 1682.  Almost 100 years later, in 1776, the population was an amazing 30,000, making it the largest city in America at that time.  George Washington and John Adams "created" the office of president of the United States while living and working in Philadelphia.  Bishop White would have absolutely entertained Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin - all of the people we know to be our Founding Fathers.  All of these people would have been frequent visitors to this home.  And so were we!  How cool is that?!